'He's always had a lot of talent and it was a case of fine tuning' - Kerdos fires in the Beverley Bullet

The king is dead, long live the king. Dual winner Tis Marvellous galloped into retirement with a gallant fourth in a thrilling Beverley Bullet won by hugely promising stablemate Kerdos.

The winner had only one behind him entering the final furlong of the Listed 5f dash but showed a tremendous burst of speed to lead near the finish under Ben Curtis to win by half a length, with the 2021 and 2022 winner – who is three times his age – just two necks further away.

"That was really exciting and to see them both fighting it out there was very special," said trainer Clive Cox.

"I'm so proud of Tis Marvellous. He's a nine-year-old but he was in there punching through the last half-furlong.

"Amy Dickens, who's worked for me for a very long time, is going to be taking charge of him and I couldn't be happier. She's looked after him from day one and the pair of them are inseparable."

Kerdos, runner-up in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes at Royal Ascot, was gaining his first win of the season but Cox said: "He's very promising. I'm looking forward to what he's got in front of him.

"He's always had a lot of talent and it was more a case of fine tuning everything. This track played well to his strengths, he has a really big kick. He's hardly had a blow there, it was very easy.

"With more professionalism, I hope he can keep progressing. The ground is important to him. He has run well on really soft ground at Chester but he's a better horse altogether on this ground. He's in the Abbaye if the ground was nice but all arrows point to next year for him."

Curtis was impressed with the winner and said: "He travelled well and the race played out nicely for him. I had the prime seat on the rail. I just edged him out and when the gap came he took it well. Mr Cox said he had it in him. If everything comes right he's a good horse, and he was right."

Aim high

Jockey Jack Mitchell's big weekend got off to the perfect start when he won the £30,000 1m4f handicap on Aimeric, one of his favourite horses.

Aimeric: "He's one of my favourites in the yard"Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The jockey, who has high hopes of landing a £200,000 first prize on Sisfahan in Sunday's Wettstar.de Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany, landed his third win on the Roger Varian-trained 7-4 favourite.

"He ran well at Ascot but got boxed in on the rail and didn't get a nice smooth clear run," he said. "Then at Newmarket they had a thunderstorm and the rain ruined the ground for him. He likes top-of-the-ground, he's a good mover. He's got his confidence and his mojo back.

"He's a lovely horse. His work has been good at home and I really like him. He's one of my favourites in the yard."

Mitchell, who took the fillies' novice on stablemate Zenjabeela on his only other ride of the day, said of Sunday: "I set off early tomorrow morning and I'm always confident going in to races, but there is a certain feeling of 'I can win this.'"

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